DIY Wedding Reception Ideas

Getting engaged has been one of the best things to ever happen to me. I have a 30 by 30 list – you know a list of 30 things that I wanted to accomplish before I turned 30 – and naturally, getting married was on the list. As much fun as being engaged is, I never imagined I would have such drastic train of thought about a wedding compared to when I wasn’t engaged.

I always have wanted a huge wedding that was over the top. I wanted all my friends and family there, the most gorgeous wedding dress with a train that was at minimum 20 feet long, a reception at a penthouse in Downtown Dallas and a honeymoon that lasted 14 days in Australia. Yes, I know that all sounds a bit much but that’s what I always envisioned as a young child about my wedding. If you think I’m joking, just look at the earliest pins on my pinterest board called Fairy Tale Wedding. 

Now that I’m in my late 20’s, I don’t want any of that. It’s all superficial to me and not really what marriage is all about. A marriage isn’t about how big the wedding is or where you honeymoon but the union between two people. Once I started planning my wedding, I immediately knew that a large wedding wasn’t what I wanted. I battled with family members, friends and people who didn’t like my thinking. I went back and forth between having this big, luxurious wedding or doing what I really wanted – a small, simple ceremony. Finally, I put my foot down and thought screw what everyone else thinks, I’m doing what I want. 

So instead of a huge, overpriced wedding, I have decided to have a simple ceremony at The Dallas Arboretum with only my family. I chose a location that only seats 25 people so there is no way that other people (ahem, my mother) can invite anyone else. 

Just because I’m having a small ceremony doesn’t mean that I don’t want to celebrate my marriage. I plan on having a huge reception at my newly renovated house a month after the ceremony where we can drink, eat and have a fun time.  The best part about having a wedding reception at my house is that I don’t have any restrictions from venues telling me I can’t do this or I can’t do that. I get to plan the reception how I want it and I can have whoever I want cater the party.

I’ve been planning some pretty awesome crafts and food for my wedding reception. I’m so excited that I wanted to share them and give yall an idea of what my party will be like. 

Personalized M&Ms

I’m a bit obsessed with personalized M&M’s. Why? Because they’re awesome and one of my favorite candies. It’s one favor that I know everyone will absolutely love and eat. I have already ordered my personalized M&M’s. I ordered white, pink and bronze pack. Some of the M&M’s will say ‘Mr & Mrs Segars” and the other will have hearts on it. You can write whatever you want on the M&M’s if it’s under a certain number of characters. I’ve seen some with their wedding date and others where people actually uploaded a picture of their face and had it put on the M&M! Once I get my personalized M&M’s, I’ll be sure to let you know how they turned out. 

Heart Favor Tags

I found these darling favor tags on Etsy and fell in love. They are so simple and to the point. I’m not a very fun person when it comes to colors. I always resort back to shades of browns for everything so I will try my hardest to make my reception pretty and not all dull. 

Cameras for guests to capture all the special moments

I will still have a professional photographer but I love the idea of having these cameras around the reception. The Wedit camera allows guests to take videos of different parts of the night. After the reception, we return them to wedit and they edit the footage from the cameras and make it into a wedding video for you. If you’re still trying to understand that this is all about, check out this video. 

Fun Cake Topper

I’m obviously not your traditional bride. I’m still debating whether I will have a ‘wedding cake’ at the reception or just lots of desserts. If we do decide to have a wedding cake, I will be ordering this cake topper I found on Etsy.  It’s only $27 and still goes with the whole rustic theme that I’m leaning towards. Heck, I might even get crafty and make one on my own.

Heart Walkway

I ran across this picture on Pinterest and LOVE it.  This is so simple but I think it would awesome to put on my sidewalk so people can follow the hearts straight into my house. The day is all about love, right? 

Outdoor Games

Fingers crossed that the Texas weather cooperates with my plans but I’m hoping for a gorgeous Fall night during my reception. I’ve been blessed with a huge backyard so we will have lots of fun yard games that will keep people entertained throughout the night. You can purchase this cute set here. 

Not all of the items on my list are set in stone other than the M&M’s but I know I’m on the right track and everything will come together perfectly. What items would you add to the list for a DIY Wedding Reception?